In 1878, US claims on Panama were once again threatened when [L3 801 / Ferdinand de Lesseps], the famous Frenchman who built the Suez Canal, decided to construct a similar canal in Panama. The Americans were furious. They sent battleships to the area and protested vehemently, but little could be done to stop him. A company called the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique (later succeeded by the New Panama Canal Company after the CUCI was dissolved) was established by de Lesseps and a number of prominent European financiers, who supported him because of his previous success with the Suez Canal. As it turned out, the project was a disaster and in time would become known as the 'Panama Scandal' (SEE TRIUMPHS AND SCANDALS).
